


The Difference Between Medicine and Poison

by PokehTurtle



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Violence, and biting lots of biting, because im trash, sex there's gonna be sex yes, triggers tagged by chapter, vampires and werewolves and witches oh my!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:08:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21957886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PokehTurtle/pseuds/PokehTurtle
Summary: Blake Belladonna is all set to dive back into school after taking a year off. Her simple plans are quickly derailed when she's implicated in a murder, alongside Yang Xiao Long, a mysterious new arrival that she can't help but be drawn to.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Weiss Schnee/Sun Wukong
Comments: 18
Kudos: 65





	The Difference Between Medicine and Poison

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas!!! Hi it's here enjoy 
> 
> Tw Alcohol Use

Yang felt guilty, angry even, as she shut the door quietly behind her, locking it and sliding the key through the small gap at the bottom; it wasn't hers after all. The girl she'd met at the club the night before was sleeping soundly in her bed, unaware of the two punctures on her neck. She'd probably blame it on bugs in the morning and her memory would be fuzzy. Nothing that couldn't be blamed on a heavy night of drinking. 

Yang shoved her hands into her coat pockets after pulling up her hood, rubbing her fingers together to fight the night's cold. She was full now at least, and her core felt pleasantly warm, like she was resting in front of a flaming hearth. Like drinking sickeningly sweet mulled wine. 

There was a disgust she couldn't help but feel. That she always felt. Not towards the poor girl she'd met, but towards herself. It was never her intention to hurt, never to cause pain, but she'd convinced herself long ago that this was the easiest way. The least harmful way to live. 

She felt cold, even as warmth pooled in her stomach. It was a brutal, self deprecating chill and for a second all she could think about was regrets and apologies, too many to count. 

Her phone in her back pocket buzzed to life, a few texts from her sister lighting up the screen. 

_'Where are you? I thought you'd be home by now.'_ They read. She could hear Ruby's voice in her head, all sad and nervous. 

Yang texted back a quick assurance that she'd be back soon and an apology for running late. She knew that she and her sister both knew what it really meant. 

She got on her motorcycle and tried to focus on the engine roaring to life, the heated smoke pouring out of the exhaust, the way her boots clipped against the shift and the feeling of the throttle clenched inside her fist. 

The streets were completely empty, excluding the occasional homeless human or faunus bundled up on corners and in alleyways. She was lucky her helmet covered her face, otherwise the cold wind would be cutting into her skin. Despite the lack of people on the road, Yang still stopped at every red light, every stop sign, even lingering for a bit when it was her turn to go. She hoped it would be enough time for Ruby to fall back asleep. It had been a long time since they lived together, but her little sister was the type to fall asleep the second her head hit the pillow. 

She opened the door to their apartment, crack by crack, and let loose the breath she'd held trapped when she saw Ruby snoring softly on the couch, a fleece blanket messily draped over her body. 

Yang cracked a smile and moved silently towards her after locking the door, pulling the blanket up over Ruby's shoulders. When she got into her room she stared out the window for a while, before she finally became drowsy again. In a few days she'd repeat the process, and so on and so forth. Probably until she died. 

\-----

Blake was in her final year in college. Had everything gone according to her original plan, had things not taken such a bizarre and dangerous turn, she'd have been all done last year, scouring the crappy job market for a shit entry level job like everyone else; standard boring young adult fare. 

But it sure as hell hadn't worked out that way. 

She put the final touches on her hair, brushing out one stingy knot from her black ends with a huff of aggression. It wasn't like she was particularly banal about her appearance; usually a little make up here and there, a daily brushing and at least a passing awareness of her fashion and makeup (well, maybe more than passing), but she wanted to look nice for Sun's party, not that she was really sure _why_ ; it was probably going to be mostly loud greek life students and whoever else her friends managed to rope in. He recently graduated, back in the spring, but he remained active with his old frat house and friends. Once a brother, always a brother, he constantly said. 

"Blake, are you sure you don't want a ride to your friend's?" Her mom's voice found it's way up the stairs to her room and Blake didn't miss the hint of concern there. 

"It's not far." Blake hollered back. She didn't point out the obvious, that no self respecting twenty-two year old wanted a ride from her parents to her friend's place. 

She finished off her look with a light dusting of eyeshadow and mascara. It was all complimentary; she liked monochromatic colors, like the black jeans and white sleeveless top she sported, and the occasional lively purple, depending on her mood of course. The two soft, black ears atop her head twitched slightly as she glanced at them. 

She grabbed her phone off her vanity, noted that Sun was spamming her with messages for some reason, despite her assurance that she'd be there later, and went down the single flight of stairs with a light step. Her parents were in the kitchen cleaning plates and putting a pot of tea for the evening on the stove. Her dad Ghira already had that concerned look on his face, brow in a V, eyes shadowed, before she even stepped foot off the stairs.

“Blake,” Blake twitched from guilt as her dad began, “you can go there yourself, but please be back before midnight. With all the recent missing persons cases we-“

“Dear.” Her mom Kali cut in, rested a hand on Ghira’s shoulder and spoke in that chiding ‘mom’ tone. “She’ll be fine. No need to bring all that up right now.”

Blake knew they meant well. After all, what parent wouldn’t be worried after their city had been plagued by a series of mysterious disappearances? It was any family's worst nightmare. She herself wasn’t worried about being spirited away, but her father was a detective with the Vale PD; the unsolved mysterious hit close to home, especially when management was on her dad's ass to get everything solved, and _especially_ since her father was a faunus. It shouldn't have mattered, but it out his work under a hyper aware microscope, racist higher ups always looking for the smallest flaw or transgression. Faunus didn't get to make the same mistakes as humans. 

“I promise I’ll be back before midnight, dad.” Blake walked up and wrapped her father in a tight hug, smiling as her father hugged her back and cradled her with his large form. He was built like a tank; most criminals probably gave up on the spot once they saw him coming. 

He sighed and looked her in the eyes. They had a matching pair; two golden spheres that matched the sun, their feline pupils closer to slits in the light. 

“I know Blake. Just… be careful. And don’t drink too much.” 

“Dad I _know_ , I’m not a freshman.”

Kali chuckled before adopting a rather sneaky look, hiding a smirk behind her hand. “And Blake dear, if you meet someone you like, make sure to-“

Ghira groaned while Blake flushed furiously and headed straight for the door, swinging on her pea coat as she pulled it off the rack. “ _Mom_ , god! I’m leaving before you try to give me unsolicited dating advice.”

Kali cackled with all the grace of a high school prankster. “Have fun dear!”

She could hear her father groan one more time before she shut the front door behind her, letting her breath come out as a small cloud. The weather was turning fast this year; it was unseasonably cold for as early as it was into fall. Hopefully it wasn't a bad omen, not that Blake tried to put stock into such things. 

She paused before actually leaving, pressing her ear against the door, her fanus traits granting her astute hearing. She knew her parents would be still be talking, either about her, or the disappearances. It was wrong to eavesdrop, but sometimes it seemed like the only way to hear the truth from her parents. They'd gotten somehow closer and more distant after the events of the previous year. 

Her voice was muffled, but she could still make out her mother’s voice: “Are all those people really still missing? Not even one has turned up?"

Her father responded. “We haven’t been releasing much information to the public but… all six of them are still unaccounted for. All our leads have fizzled. That’s why I’m so worried, I just-“

“You told me yourself that none of them went missing in our area. It’s safe around here, and we can trust Blake. She’s careful, especially after what happened with Ad-“

Blake pulled her ear away quickly and took off. That was the one subject she didn’t want to hear anyone talk about. 

The sunset was setting in as she walked to Sun’s, passing commuters stuck in standstill traffic on the road fussing with their phones and blasting the top fifty or the news on their radios. Plenty of other people chose the sidewalks like she did; business men and women with their heads angled down at the concrete and their phones, couples holding hands and laughing about old anecdotes and planning future dates and outings. Cute stuff that she didn't really want to hear about either. She longed to be in their position. 

Sun's 'house' was only a few blocks away, stashed in between an old family owned drug store and a park that had more cracked cement than grass. It was an old two story building he rented with a few others, mostly some of his frat brothers from college (and a few still attending). She approached the front of the building, already hearing the pounding bass from within. She couldn't help but wince; she wasn't a fan of such loud sounds, even though she knew she would get used to it eventually. He'd dragged her to enough parties back in school to know that. 

Before she could even place her hand on the door knob, the entrance was flung open by none other than her friend Sun Wukong (somehow already shirtless), holding a freshly fizzing beer in one hand and an ear to ear smile on his face. His monkey tail bobbed up and down playfully behind him. He was one of the first faunus friends she'd made in college; that made him a valuable confidant at times. 

"Blake! _Finally_ , we were starting to think you weren't coming!"

"Well, after the million texts you sent me, I thought it would be more fun to keep you in suspense." She walked past him into the house, crinkling her nose as her senses were flooded with the smell of beer, liquor, and cheap weed. The bass was turned up of course, and she swore she saw some shot glasses slowly vibrating off of a table. Sun offered to take her jacket and she gladly handed it over. The temperature was much warmer in the house. 

She recognized plenty of the attendees from back before she took her year off from school. Coco was there, fashionable and clinging to the shy and sweet Velvet as always, and Nora and Ren were dominating the beer pong scene, sinking the balls into dangerously full cups of beer with an admittedly satisfying 'plop', though the former was engaging in a lot more screaming and cheering than the latter. She was smiling before she knew it, re-catolouging so many of the faces she had missed while she was gone, all wrapped up in pleasant memories. Blake surprised herself a bit; she wasn't much of a partier, really. When Sun joked about dragging her to parties, he almost literally sometimes meant physical _dragging_ , though it was always in good fun and a light spirit. 

She'd committed herself to (hopefully) coming out of her shell a bit this year, even just a little. It was her first time at such an outing since moving back in with her parents and she knew hanging out with her old friends would help warm her spirit back up, take her mind off of things. 

"Here ya' go Blake!" Sun moved next to her and handed her a can of beer, ice cold and still unopened. "This still your favorite kind?" 

"Close enough." Blake smiled, taking the can, an easy to drink pilsner, light and crisp, with a quick thank you. Despite how cold it was getting outside, the inside of the house was warm from the throng of bodies, and the chilled can felt great against her palms. 

The two said cheers to each other and tapped their drinks together, Sun taking a much heartier swig than Blake did; he had an impressive tolerance for alcohol, and she wasn't sure how he maintained his washboard abs with as unhealthy his beverage and food choices were. A shit load of crunches apparently. 

"How's everything going?" Sun asked, sitting on the arm of a chair with a few suspicious wet spots on it. "Happy to start school back up next week?"

"You have no idea." Blake sighed and took an unconscious sip from her drink. "I'm just glad all my professors aren't making me redo any coursework."

"Seriously. I think I'd just give up at this point." Sun joked, though Blake didn't take it quite as well as he thought she would. She looked down at her can, fiddling with the tab as he back-peddled. The sharp aluminum corners scraped against her thumb.

"I mean- you're so smart I can't imagine you'd ever do that. Genius Belladonna over here." 

"It's fine Sun." She smiled at him after she managed to push her more depressing thoughts away. "Though I do like being called a _genius_."

"Sun, Blake! Come play beer pong! Think you can unseat the _champion!?_ " Nora literally shouted across the house as she spotted her friends still near the door, a sparkle in her eyes as she gave triumphant fist pump. Ren looked a bit exasperated standing next to her, but there was a warmth in his eyes that he only ever reserved for his ginger companion. 

"Be right there! You're gonna regret this Nora!" Sun shouted right back at her with a vicious grin. "Whatcha say Blake? A little playful competition?" 

"I'll pass for now. But you know Nora's gonna kick your butt right?"

"Details!"

He winked at her as he hustled over to the table while Nora got everything set up for a fresh game. Blake was happy to pass on it; losing to Nora meant drinking a lot of lukewarm beer. She found herself getting bored quickly though and wandered into the kitchen, where she found one of her old friends (and Sun's best friend) Neptune, talking with some people she didn't recognize (all humans she noted, but young people in Vale were open minded, and they wouldn't have come to the party if they were hateful. 

It wasn't really surprising that they had invited some people she didn't know, especially since Sun probably wouldn't care if a complete stranger off the street wandered in, but she still winced unconsciously. She wasn't _great_ at making new friends and cordial wasn't a word often used to describe her. 

Still, she made her way over once Neptune caught her eye and gestured her over, trying to remind herself of her whole new 'coming out of her shell strategy'. She could pull this off.

"Blake! Long time no see! Did Sun already catch you? He was worried you weren't gonna make it." Neptune was a good guy, really, even though he had a proclivity to flirt with every girl he met. 

"He caught me before I even opened the door." Blake joked. "Maybe I should have snuck through the back?"

"Probably. He's super hyper tonight." He laughed happily before gesturing to the group of new folks in front of her. She hadn't really gotten a good look at them yet. "These are three super cool girls me and Sun met last week."

Blake was about to try to introduce herself when they all turned their heads towards the sound of someone vomiting in the trash can. A tall, lanky boy with light blond hair waved sheepishly at them as he wiped his mouth with a paper towel. 

"... And that's Jaune." Neptune said matter of factly. "Anyways. Cool girls. Meet Blake!"

"'Cool girls?' We have names, Neptune." One of the women scoffed and crossed her arms, the gesture making her pure white ponytail gracefully fall over her shoulder. She was done up for what was basically a college party; heels, designer cocktail dress and what Blake was convinced were _real_ diamonds in her hair band. She had old money written all over her and the pomp and airs to match. 

"Sorry Weiss!" Neptune sheepishly coughed, his cheeks flushing. 

He looked at Blake and gestured to Ms. Princess. "Weiss Schnee! She's a model actually; I recognized her from the cover of a magazine! We were pretty surprised when she agreed to come."

 _Of course you would, Neptune._ Blake kept her seething anger mental. How Sun and Neptune thought it was appropriate to invite Weiss Schnee to their party was beyond her. She was the heir apparent to the massive Schnee fashion conglomerate; an organization not well known for its _great_ labor practices, particularily when it came to faunus. In fact, it was better known for a number of scandals, including several sweatshop fires and collapses. She recalled multiple protests, raw throats, staring into a blue gaze and forcing herself to stand still when the bruises came. She choked on her drink and wrote it off as a casual mistake. 

"Well, I don't often get to spend time with people my age." Weiss spoke with an underlying loneliness Blake didn't miss. She knew the feeling like an old friend. Both Weiss and her sister Winter Schnee had famously split ties with their family's company and she doubted that it had left good blood between any of them. "It's nice to meet you Blake."

"You too." Blake said as friendly as she could. 

"Oh, I'm Ruby!" Blake startled as another of the girls gleefully hopped up and introduced herself. She had short black hair with red tips, and the cut itself was messy, but somehow charming against her youthful, beaming face. She was certainly more dressed down than Weiss, more appropriate for the scale of the party, sporting a simple red and black hoodie with jeans and canvas shoes. Her silver eyes stood out; they seemed to shine even under the old lights buzzing above them. She wasn't drinking, if the can of soda in her hand was any indication. 

"I'm starting at Vale University next week! Mechanical engineering! Are you a student? What do you major in? Do you like building things because I-" Ruby fired off her questions with the speed and grace of machine gun before getting cut off. 

"Ruby geez! It's not an interrogation!"

Blake took in a deep, thankful breath as her currently laughing and unnamed savior put a halt to Ruby's (admittedly well intentioned and sweet) questions. She looked over and time paused. 

The third woman was _tall_ ; that was the first thing she noticed. The second thing was something she couldn't possibly miss. She had a veritable waterfall of golden hair, wavy and curly like spun thread, cradling around her forehead and cheeks and framing her lilac eyes, bold and gleaming dully in the light. She was dressed simply, but flashier than Ruby, wearing some dark blue jeans and boots with a bold yellow and black flannel that looked like it was just warm enough for the changing weather. 

She was stunning. 

"I uh…" Blake slapped herself mentally because all her eloquence had flown out the window and she was staring blankly at the woman that had silenced Ruby. She felt like she was seeing color for the first time. 

"Hi." She waved cheerfully at Blake. "I'm Yang. Sorry about my 'sis Ruby. She's really, really hyper. Means well though."

"Not hyper just _exuberant_." Ruby pouted, sticking her tongue out. 

"Call it whatever you want Ruby!" Yang smiled, beaming like a solar flare. 

The two sisters giggled with each other as Weiss, who was stuck in between them, ran a hand over he face with a belaboured sigh. 

"Pretty nice people huh?" Neptune addressed Blake, stealing her attention away from Yang. 

"They do seem like it." Blake smiled and took a sip of her beer, trying to hide the fact that she wanted to steal another glance at Yang. She was surprised to see that she was looking at her too and it made her choke on her drink. Again. It was inexplicable how much of a reaction she was having to just catching Yang's eyes, flowerlike, warm and inviting. Sure, she was good looking (really good looking, and Blake had just realized how muscular her build was), but she wasn't the type to act like a dumbstruck grade schooler just because someone was _hot_. She didn't fall head over heels. There was something more going on here. 

"Uh, and yeah, I'm attending school next week." Blake used the opportunity to answer Ruby's earlier question as an excuse to stop looking at Yang, even though she could tell that she was still looking back at _her._ It was like staring at a beautiful predator, like a lion or a wolf, sizing her up in the wild. The difference was that if she was prey, she wasn't running. 

"Oh, that's great!" Ruby said with her trademark _exuberance_. "What's your major?"

"Photography and journalism." Blake answered with a slight blush. There was no reason to be embarrassed about her choice; not anymore at least, but there was still a lingering shame hiding in her psyche, a voice saying ' _why bother with such stupid things? The work we're doing is more important. I'm more important_ '.

"That's awesome! Super cool." Yang chimed in. "Wanna take a picture of me? This is my good side." She pointed to her entire face and winked at Blake, who suddenly felt overdressed in her sleeveless shirt for how warm the room had just gotten. 

_Yes._ She thought to herself. _You're all good sides. Why would I photograph anything other than you?_

Blake swallowed a sizable lump and screamed at her brain to stop telling her she had a crush on this girl she just met. She wasn't sixteen anymore. 

"Well, I don't have my camera…" Blake shrugged. She was actually still waiting on a replacement she had ordered. Her last camera had met an untimely end smashed against a flight of metal stairs, completely destroyed. She stopped thinking about it. 

"You should try later though! Blake is a seriously good photographer!" Neptune hyped up his friend, much to Blake's embarrassment. She'd never been good at taking compliments and probably never would be. "Weiss, you might be interested in checking out some of her work since you're a model and all."

"I would be, actually." Weiss pondered the offer for a moment before giving Blake a business like smile. She thought about how Weiss was _also_ good looking and tried to force herself to have a similar reaction. It was obvious why she was a model, but for whatever reason, she wasn't chemically affecting her the way Yang was, wasn't making her brain boil. 

Dammit, it was _frustrating_.

"That sounds nice." Blake continued her conversation with Weiss. 

The five of them kept talking for a while after that, chatting about the usual topics that came up on first meetings, like where they were from, how Neptune had run into Yang and Ruby on campus and tried to ask the former out on a date (which Yang shot down quickly. Apparently she was only interested in women which was something Blake _certainly_ didn't jot down a mental note of), what hobbies they enjoyed, how they were liking the party, facts and stories, and the whole time Blake tried very hard not to focus her attention on Yang and the abnormal magnetism in the air. 

Neptune finished his vodka soda with a disappointing sigh. Blake saw an opportunity to catch her breath from all the socializing. 

"Here, I can go get you another one. I need a new drink anyways." Blake shrugged and grabbed the newly happy Neptune's cup. 

"Oh, I'll go with you! I wanted to grab another beer." Her pulse spiked as Yang announced her intentions and drew closer. Blake really wanted to say 'no that's ok', or 'I'll just grab yours too', but her throat was suddenly feeling very dry and she just nodded and headed towards the front where Sun had set up the coolers and liquor bar. 

"They usually throw parties like this?" Yang asked Blake as they headed over, trying to strike up conversation. "This is gonna be wild in a couple more hours."

"More often than I'd like." It came out slightly more antagonistic than she'd wanted, but Yang either didn't notice or didn't care. 

"Well, next time I'll bring my dancing shoes then." She smiled at Blake, teeth all beaming white and gleaming. 

"Partier are you?" Blake raised an eyebrow. 

"Adrenaline junkie." Yang responded in a low voice that would make anyone shiver. 

"Oof. Can't relate." Blake hid her blush. 

"Really? How do you feel about motorcycles?" Yang said with a well times raise of her brows. 

"Metal death machines." Blake snorted, giggling at Yang's faux heart attack at her response. 

It took Blake a second to realize that they had already long reached the 'alcohol zone', according to a badly made sign Sun had put up.

"Uh, what are you drinking?" Blake opened the cooler and moved some of the ice around with her hand, shifting the cans and bottles around. 

"Oh, some IPA. Anything citrusy is good. Thanks." Blake nodded and handed Yang a bottle and grabbed herself another can. 

"Thanks! Ooh, watch this." Yang said with childish Glee, waiting for Blake to give her a curious look. She wasn't sure _how_ she did it, but Yang managed to flick open the bottle in a single jolt of the wrist and thumb, sending the slightly bent cap flying slowly towards Blake, who managed to catch it in her free hand. It was still cold. 

She laughed, a real, genuine laugh. "Full of party tricks, huh?"

Yang winked ( _again_ , Blake lamented,), and took a drink out of her bottle, almost as though she knew Blake would be watching the way her lips pressed against the rim and how her neck was exposed in the fluorescent light. Blake took another sip of beer in an attempt to quench the thirst she was feeling. 

Yang smiled and wiped a drop of beer off of her lips, soft and shining. "That hits the spot. Here, I'll go make that drink for Neptune."

She walked over to where the copious bottles of soda and alcohol were stashed, along with a couple of bongs in desperate need of a good clean, and mixed up the drink, just as promised, singing along to the dance music blasting through the speakers in the living room. Blake took the pause to catch her breath, unconsciously pocketing the beer cap in her pocket. 

They were about to head back to the kitchen with their backs turned to the bottles of booze when a terrible symphony of breaking glass assaulted their ears. 

"What the-" Yang read her mind. Both girls about faced and saw Sun and Nora recovering drunkenly from stumbling into the liquor table, sending several glass bottles onto the floor where they met their untimely end. 

"Oh, _Sun._ " Blake groaned, walking over to where both Sun and Nora were still lying on the floor, getting their pants soaked by vodka and tequila, giggling with each other despite their sudden crash. Alcohol had a way of filling the severity of any situation. 

"Whoops!" He shrugged abashedly. "Beer pong got a little intense."

He tried sitting up before Blake pushed him down easily on the shoulder, placing her beer off to the side. 

"Here, let me get the big pieces out before you get up; I don't want you or Nora cutting yourselves." It was a well intentioned thought, honestly. No one wanted their friends slipping and sliding in a puddle of glass and cheap alcohol, but maybe it was because Blake herself had a slight buzz, maybe because she could still feel Yang watching her, but as she was moving the larger pieces of glass off to the side Blake's finger slipped, leaving a precise, vertical cut on her index finger. She pulled her hand back quickly, swearing as she watched a trickle of blood pool out of the cut and a jolt of pain zapped her brain. 

"Shit, Blake you ok?" Sun asked, sobering up quickly. 

"It's just a tiny cut.." Blake said as she stood up, embarrassed that she'd done something so stupid. A hand grabbed her own, gently, but with a weighted, trained firmness. Purpose. She looked up and saw Yang, not staring at her, but laser focused on her cut. 

"You're bleeding." Yang mumbled, running a thumb across Blake's wrist. Her eyes, beautiful and colored like a field of lilacs, had turned red; a horrible, tantalizing rouge, not unlike a ruby or the center of a dying sun. Blake was convinced of it, and her heart stopped in her chest, paralyzed by fear the same way as a deer facing down a pack of wolves. She wasn’t sure she’d ever been so afraid and mesmerized at the same time. 

"Yang? What's taking you guys so long-" Ruby rounded the corner into the kitchen and scurried over hastily once she saw Blake and Yang. 

"Oh no, Blake what happened?" Ruby rather purposefully moved Yang away from Blake, the former’s touch leaving a lingering coldness against Blake's skin. She found herself missing her touch the second it was gone, like she’d lost the gravity that tethered her down and was floating away. Ruby frowned and walked between her and Yang. "Sun, do you have any Band-Aids?"

"Uh, yeah." Sun replied meekly. Apparently he hadn't missed the weirdness of Blake and Yang's little interaction, and neither did several other party goers, if the look on their faces was any indication. She felt very aware of their confused stares. "They're in the upstairs bathroom. You know where, right Blake?"

"Y-yeah." Blake tried to calm her pulse, her ribs vibrating as her heart slammed against them. It was just a small injury. Why had it turned into such an event?

"Do you need help?" Her skin jumped again as Yang offered to come with her, eyes swirling between red and purple; Blake wondered if anyone else could tell. 

"It's just a cut, Yang." Ruby sighed squeezing her sister's shoulder. 

"R-right. Sorry. We'll be back in the kitchen." The two sisters awkwardly moved back to the kitchen, with Yang sparing one last glance at Blake, this time her eyes lavender and sad. 

All of a sudden Blake decided she _really_ needed some alone time. She brushed it off when Sun also offered to come with her, wisely telling him that he should get off the floor and cleaned up first. The upstairs floor was completely dead; everyone was relegated to the downstairs, having a good time. It wasn't hard to find the bathroom and the boys' rather sparse first aid kit, but it had Band-Aids and a bit of peroxide; all Blake needed for such a small cut. 

She winced as the disinfectant hissed over her cut like a bubbling cauldron. The slight burn provided a temporary distraction, but it was gone far too soon. Her thoughts were quickly swirling around again with images of Yang eyeing up her finger like a choice piece of steak and irises bleeding into red ochre. Blake splashed some cold water on her face and looked at her flushed cheeks in the mirror, and the wet strands of her hair stuck and curling around her understandably concerned expression. 

When she went back downstairs she passed by everyone as stealthily as she could, grabbed her jacket off the rack, and headed outside. It was pitch black, save for the street light buzzing softly out front of Sun's house. She sat down on the curb and let out a shaky sigh, thankful to finally be able to relax a bit. Blake just sat there for a bit, counting her breaths and and how big the clouds they formed became. 

She was struggling to get Yang off of her mind and kept rubbing her fingers over the band-aid over her cut, wincing only a few times when she put too much pressure on the wound. There was something so frightening about the girl; the look in her eyes had been so supernatural, and yet for some god forsaken reason Blake wanted to find herself staring it down once again. 

When she arrived at Sun’s she was expecting to make small talk and and fuck around for a few hours. Not have a school girl esque crisis over a mysterious girl. 

"Hey, what are you doing out here?"

 _Fuck, is she just orbiting me now?_ Blake shifted across the hard curb, looking up to see Yang glancing down at her, concerned, with her hands in a leather motorcycle jacket's pockets. 

She sat next to Blake, inviting herself, though she blessedly left a good foot of space between them. 

"Party a bit too much?" Yang said it with a surprising amount of understanding. She couldn't expect someone so clearly extroverted bad Yang to understand. 

"Yeah. Just needed some air." Blake sighed, watching a car rush by on the street. "I'm not much of a socializer."

"Want me to leave? I don't wanna bug you if you're feeling overwhelmed. I mean, I _do_ wanna bug you but…" Yang laughed and played with a curl of her golden hair. 

"No it's- it's fine." It certainly wasn't fine, seeing as Yang was the primary cause of her high tempo heart rate, but she couldn't bring herself to tell her to go back in, especially if she'd come out there to provide some comfort to Blake. She knew how odd it looked; someone leaving a party to sit outside in the cold with no company except her own thoughts. Kind people would likely think the right thing to do was to offer her company. She could respect that kindness, even though she'd rather be alone to mull. 

Yang smiled, eyes twinkling, and made herself more comfortable on the curb, leaning back with her hands propping her up on Sun's unkempt lawn, fingers lacing through the grass.

"Why do you wanna bother me anyways? Always seek out the wallflowers at parties?" Blake asked, resting her chin on a pair of crossed arms. Yang stared back at her with an easy smile, analysing Blake perhaps. 

"I dunno. You seem cool. I just moved here with my sister so I don't really have, y'know, any good friends yet." That was something Blake could certainly relate too. Had her current friends not been so persistent she would have been alone as well. 

"Sun and Neptune are a lot friendlier than I am." Blake mumbled. Part of her still wanted Yang to just leave her alone to stew in her own confusing emotions. 

"Well, they're not as pretty." Yang answered with a sultry voice, low and deliberate. Predatory maybe. Blake's cheeks went nuclear and she quickly dug her face lower into her arms. 

"Sorry, too much?" Yang sheepishly asked. 

"A bit." Blake replied honestly. She'd need to call an ambulance if her heart ran any faster. "Sorry, I'm not used to compliments."

"Well that's silly." Yang huffed playfully. "You're honestly super pretty."

"Thanks, I guess." Her blush intensified. Yang couldn't see it in the bad lighting, right? 

"Are you going to school too?" Blake asked, trying to make benign conversation. 

"Nah. I got a job at a club around here. I moved with Ruby 'cause I didn't want her to alone in the big city. I never went to college, actually." There was a mix of confidence and shame in Yang's tone, like she was embarrassed to admit the facts. 

"There's nothing wrong with that." Blake took in the curves of Yang's face. Part of her would say anything to ensure this woman wasn't sad. 

"I know, but it still kinda sucks." Yang chuckled, shifting a bit closer to Blake. Warmth radiated off of her. "Makes me feel stupid sometimes."

"Yang, I can already tell you're a lot smarter than Sun, and he _graduated_."

"Oh come on, blond muscle head seems plenty smart." Yang teased. "I mean he was so good at beer pong!"

"All his brain cells go towards working out and being endearing." Blake snorted. "But he's a really good friend."

"Known each other a long time?" Yang asked, clearly curious. 

"We started school at the same time. Met after he ran into me in the dining hall. Literally, ran into me."

"That checks out." Yang winced. "So you're taking a fifth year? Super senior?" 

Blake had really been hoping she'd get through the night without that question. It was typical of her luck that Yang of all people would be the one to pose it. 

"No I uh…" The truth was out of the question, so she defaulted to the simplest answer. "I took last year off. Just needed a break."

"Makes sense. Must be a lot of work being a double major." Yang responded with an admiration Blake couldn't accept. She nodded and the conversation died, even though Yang clearly wanted to keep talking to her.

"You're really hot." Blake said too quickly, randomly picking out a topic to switch to and suddenly very desperate to retract her comment. An explosion of heat backed her cheeks before Yang even responded exactly how she knew she would. 

"Yeah, most girls think so. Guys too, but bummer for them." Yang smiled wickedly, eyes lidded, and closed another few inches towards Blake, like she was testing the waters.

"I meant- I meant _temperature_ wise you jerk!" Blake snickered, though she one hundred percent meant it the other way too. "Seriously, how are you still so warm out here?"

"Always ran hot." Yang shrugged, tapping her fingers impatiently against the curb. Of course she'd maybe-accidentally maybe-on-purpose be drawing Blake's gaze to her hands. "But you won't hear me complaining about it the next few months."

"Color me jealous." Blake chuckled and shifted uncomfortably on the curb. Yang opened her mouth, and there was another flirty comment there, just waiting to burst out when Ruby plopped down next to Yang out of nowhere. 

"Hell Ruby, you're gonna give me a heart attack." Blake thought about how ironic it was for Yang to be saying that. 

"You'll live." Ruby snorted. "Aren't you guys cold out here? Brrr…"

She shivered comically in her sweater. 

"Nah, I'm Blake's personal space heater." Yang smirked, making a motion to drape an arm around Blake before smartly deciding against it. 

"Well, we have to go anyways." Ruby sighed. "The truck with the rest of our stuff is coming super early tomorrow."

"Ugh, Ruby I'm not nearly drunk enough to call this party quits!" Yang joked and fell over into her back, exposing to Blake her sharp jawline and smooth neck. 

"Shouldn't you be a good big sister?" Blake laughed and tapped Yang on her shoulder, unable to fight the desire to touch her, even just a little. The thought of touching her more took her subconscious to some embarrassing places and warmth bubbled up in stomach.

"Do I have too?" Yang whined, flashing puppy dog eyes between Blake and Ruby, getting a rewarding snicker out of both of them. "I wanna talk to Blake more!"

"You can do that on your own time!" Ruby went in for the kill and started tickling her sister, sending Yang rolling in a fit of laughter straight into Blake's lap. Blake froze as she stared down at Yang, with her hair all tussled and her eyes looking right back up at her with the telltale gleam of desire. Yang opened her mouth to say something before Ruby gracelessly pulled her back up.

"Sorry Blake!" Ruby fussed with her hands, embarrassed. Yang looked just a bit disappointed and Blake felt the feeling mirrored in her heart. 

"It-its fine." _Smooth Blake, smooth._ She punched herself in her brain. 

Yang sighed unsteadily. "Ok, ok, we can go."  
She leaned over and ruffled Ruby's hair, despite the squeak of protest the younger girl popped out. 

"Can I uh, get your number maybe? We could hang out sometime?" Blake was confused by how nervous Yang seemed asking for her number. That was Blake's purview. 

"Sure, you can put your number in." Blake coughed quickly, handing Yang her phone after unlocking it. 

"Sweet!" Yang typed her number in faster than a hummingbird could flap its wings. "Shoot me a text later, ok?"

"Yang, stop flirting!" Ruby groaned as she threw her head back. Yang ignored her.

"Yeah." Blake replied bluntly. Her brain had stopped processing complex sentences. 

"Alright, let's get going Ruby. See you around Blake." Yang sent one more devastating wink at Blake before she and Ruby hopped up off the curb, Ruby shooting a friendly wave goodbye towards Blake. 

She held her phone tight in her palms as she watched the sisters stroll down the street, laughing and smiling at each other with sibling comeraderie that Blake never had the pleasure of knowing. Yang's name stood proudly next to her number in her contacts and Blake wondered if she'd ever have the nerve to text her, or even if she should. 

It was getting late. She looked back at the house and wondered if she should bother saying goodbye to everyone; it was always an arduous task, especially considering how sauced some of them would be. 

Despite the guilt of being antisocial, Blake tucked her hands into her pockets and headed back home, counting her steps and breaths to distract herself from the burning she still felt in her chest. 

\----- 

"So uh, you really liked Blake, huh?" Ruby coughed into her fist, gracelessly. 

Yang locked the door to their apartment behind them and hung her coat up, rolling up the sleeves on her flannel shirt. The room seemed boiling compared to how cold it had gotten outside. That, and her face was still churning lava after meeting Blake. 

"I mean, yeah. She seems cool." Yang left out a few other pertinent facts, like how she'd almost barfed out her heart when she saw how beautiful she was. She definitely left out how the cut on Blake's finger had sent her into a near frenzy, how her blood smelled like a rich cabernet, aged and pristine. Ruby knew all her secrets, but she didn't like talking about them, especially not with her family. 

"Uh-huh." Ruby replied with a suspicious lilt. "You know, you kinda weirded out a bit when she…"

She trailed off, but they both knew what she was talking about. Yang bit the inside of her cheek and nearly tore a hole in it with her teeth, trying not to think about Blake and the fire in her chest.

"It was fine. You didn't need to step in." Yang opened up their fridge and snapped open a can of beer. She'd meant it earlier when she said she wasn't drunk enough. Definitely not drunk enough to talk about the party. "Sorry, that wasn't what I meant-"

"It's ok." Ruby's form shrank. "I just, y'know, I care about you. And you don't have to keep going out at night and stuff. You can always-"

"No, Ruby." Yang slammed her drink down in the kitchen counter with a force that threatened to crush the aluminum. She grit her teeth and glanced up at her sister, overcome with shame of how sad she'd made her look; how frightened and worried. 

"I'm sorry." Yang said quietly. "I'm really sorry. But you know I can't."

"I understand." Ruby said after a quiet moment. "I think I'm gonna head to bed." 

She shuffled over to her room and opened the door slowly, looking back at Yang with nothing but sympathy and kindness. 

"I love you." Ruby smiled weakly. 

"I love you too, Ruby." Yang smiled back, real and genuine. Her sister shut the door softly behind her, leaving Yang alone in their small kitchen. She stared out the single big window in the center of their apartment, looking out as the few scant lights still in in their apartment complex flicked off, time passing ever so slowly as she finished off her drink, alone in the dim night light. The beer grew from cold to tepid in her hand before she crushed it.

**Author's Note:**

> H e l l o a g a i n
> 
> So this is straight up a total rewrite of my old fic and I think it's gonna be a better ride in generallll
> 
> There are v major story changes (like really major)
> 
> I scaled everything back in general because boy had I basically roped myself into like a gazillion word fic at minimum so now I'm just focusing on the bees story! Which you may or may not like more but I'm like convinced it's way better 
> 
> Also I'm posting this on mobile cause I don't have my desktop right now I'll go back and fix the tags later lol ok bye


End file.
